Breaking Stereotypes

Nothing will be the same.

The night that Landon died he had scored three touchdowns. It was homecoming, and of course we were playing our rivals for our final home game. Most other high schools play easier teams to defeat on homecoming in order to guarantee a win on the final home game, but our team never backed down from a challenge. Hence, why this would our toughest home game yet.

Usually by homecoming the weather is still nice, but not that year. It was pouring rain. The game was one like you see in the movies, or read in books. We scored, they scored, and it kept going back and forth. Finally, it was one last down, and only a few seconds until the game ended being tied. Landon looked at me with his face dripping rain, and probably sweat mixed, and he grinned.

He knew he was going to have to get around them and make the final catch as the receiver. I gave him a small smile and a nod. Technically I was sleeping with Ryan Miller, and even if we weren't together officially, or for longer than two weeks, I didn't want to hurt anyone. All of us cheerleaders were screaming, and trying to rile up the crowd. I couldn't pause long enough to take my eyes off of Landon.

Landon had been hanging around my locker, and I knew he wanted to try again. But there was no point. When we had broken up he told me himself that I was a girl he intended to marry, but he knew we had to come back together eventually. He needed to focus on football. He was being looked at by D1 colleges, and needed the scholarship. They aren't completely lacking in money, but I know that sending five boys to college would be a burden on the Dalton family.

He was the oldest of the five boys, and he knew if he could get a full ride for football his parents wouldn't have to dip into their savings for another year until Hunter went off to school. And the way Landon saw it, Hunter was good enough to get a full ride too. The youngest Dalton boys were in 5th grade when Landon was a senior, and Hunter was a junior. Then his parents had a full seven years to find funding for the rest of the boys, and college for triplets would be expensive.

Landon and I couldn't be together until he had his life figured out. I didn't want to be a reason to hold him back, or distract him. I loved him too much to do that to his life. I needed him to focus on himself before he could focus on us, and I refused to take his future from him.

The final play was made, and the ball had a perfect spiral from one Dalton brother's hand into the other. Hunter, Landon's brother, threw the winning pass and Landon was the one who caught it. Both of the Dalton boys played together better than anyone had ever seen. The entire school was screaming, and ran to storm the field.

It was one of those moments that I knew we would all look back on in 30 years, and tell our kids about our high school glory days.

I followed behind everyone screaming and cheering that our team had won the homecoming game. When I looked over at Landon I saw that he was already staring at me. He had this intense look in his eyes that I never will know what was going through his mind in that moment.

Finally after all the celebration on the field everyone started to pile back into their cars to head to parties, or decided to wait for the players outside of the locker rooms. It was still pouring out, but nonetheless I sat and waited outside the locker room. I stood with Charlie and Piper, and told myself I was waiting for Miller. In my heart I knew I wasn't waiting for Miller, but hoping Landon would come find me.

Almost all of the guys in the locker room came out, and were greeted with cheers. Miller came out with the first group of guys, and was having a blast with all the attention. He kissed me on the cheek and told me he'd see me at Keith's house. That's where the football boys decided to have their huge party.